Site Mobile Navigation

Russian Court Frees Reporter In Case About Nuclear Waste

Grigory Pasko, a crusading Russian journalist who documented the Russian Navy's mishandling of nuclear waste, was released today on parole, the latest chapter in a case that human rights groups called a throwback to Soviet-era repressions.

This morning in the Russian Far Eastern town of Ussuriysk, a local court, citing good behavior, ruled Mr. Pasko could go free. Mr. Pasko, 40, had served two-thirds of his four-year prison sentence.

The case drew protests from international human rights groups, who said his arrest and conviction was not unlike those of political prisoners in Soviet times. It coincided with a spate of other arrests of academics and foreigners, which at the time raised fears about a re-emergence of Russia's security services.

It was also widely criticized within Russia as a blunder by Russia's military and an embarrassment for the Kremlin. President Vladimir V. Putin himself offered last year to grant Mr. Pasko amnesty, but the journalist refused, saying it would be an admission of guilt.

In a telephone interview tonight from his home in Vladivostok, Mr. Pasko expressed relief to be free but said he feared an appeal by military prosecutors could put him back in jail. Russia's general prosecutor, Vladimir Ustinov, said he would not protest the ruling.

''It's too early to celebrate,'' Mr. Pasko said tonight. ''This has happened before.''

Indeed, Mr. Pasko had already served time in prison. He was arrested in 1997, when, as a reporter for Boyevaya Vakhta, or Battle Watch, the newspaper of the Russian Pacific Fleet, he took notes during a meeting of Navy officers and passed them on to a Japanese television network, where he was a freelancer.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

But after 20 months in custody, he was given amnesty in what many saw as a face-saving maneuver by a closed military tribunal.

Mr. Pasko appealed the ruling to clear his name, and prosecutors struck back. He was back in court in the same case in 2001, legal in Russia's justice system. In all, Mr. Pasko has been in court, in prison, or in custody for more than three years.

''How can you talk of freedom living in Russia?'' said Mr. Pasko, who added that representatives of the Federal Security Service, the successor to the K.G.B., had told him he would not get his passport back, thus baring him from travel outside Russia.

Russian television this evening showed Mr. Pasko raising his fist in a victory punch and smiling, as he left a brick courthouse near the prison. Shots of his apartment showed two smiling young sons, and rooms packed with journalists, human rights workers and lawyers.

Mr. Pasko said he would continue to push his appeal through Russia's legal system to clear his name, and planned to return to work in journalism. His lawyer, Ivan Y. Pavlov, said an appeal has been filed with Russia's Supreme Court.

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this article appears in print on January 24, 2003, on Page A00006 of the National edition with the headline: Russian Court Frees Reporter In Case About Nuclear Waste. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe